Tic-Toc Game
by SugarBubbleGum
Summary: Game boards blow, especially if they transport you to 1899 without warning, leaving you no time to pack all your makeup. As it turns out, maybe being a newsie is overrated. Kylie and her friends soon find this to be true. And now all the newsies want to know what in the world a 'bae' is. And surprise, surprise, no phone signal in 1899. Nothing like altering the past.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: **Please read before proceeding 3

Hello everyone! So I took this story down about five years ago in 2010 because I decided that I didn't like it anymore, and I couldn't go anywhere with it. And then about two years ago in February 2013 I brought this story back. Following that, I abandoned it for a long while to work on other stories. But now it's back for good hopefully!

I have updated this story from last year because I've found mistakes in it, so I apologize if it is not like you remembered. Also, keep in mind that I first wrote this fic around 2010, so some of the dialogue and pop cultural references may be a bit dated. I'll try to fix that.

Let me know in the reviews if you are a previous reader of this story, and if you like the changes made. Also if you are a new reader please let me know if you like it, and what you would like to see in the future.

BTW, though I deleted the original Tic-Toc Game from five years ago, the previous updated version from two years ago is still on the website. I will be updating this version of the Tic-Toc Game as a new story. I hope you like this one as I have tried to clean it up a bit. The humor is still the same as is the main plot.

HOWEVER, I have taken into account from earlier reviews and private messages that there are too many girl protagonists in this story. Granted, the main protagonist was Kylie, or 'Cat' as the newsies call her. But having six other girl mains is just too much to keep track of both for me and for the readers, and I could not do each of their characters justice. Therefore, I have gotten rid of the characters of Sophie (who loved Skittery) and Zoe (who loved David). I'm sorry if you felt attached to them, but these two were the least developed characters and didn't really have any subplots of their own and were, for lack of better words, filler characters. Also I have changed the names of most of the characters, so I'm sorry if that's confusing!

Originally, I was going to make this one of those Mary-Sue parodies, but then I changed my mind halfway through. So if it seems a bit mocking at first, I apologize. I will be changing a lot of things in this fic from the original, so heads up.

Lastly, if you have any objections to things that I've added or taken away from the original, leave a review! I'd appreciate the criticism and will try to fix it. Thanks so much for being so patient :D

Please enjoy this updated version of The Tic-Toc Game.

Disclaimer: Only own my OC's and original ideas


	2. Chapter 2

"Who is it that can't eat peanut butter?" Kylie's mother, Maureen Corcoran, asked for like the hundredth time that night. It was Friday evening, the third day of summer break, and Mrs. Corcoran sat at the kitchen counter, glasses perched on her nose, calmly preparing what appeared to be grilled cheese.

Kylie felt the Vanilla Coke she was drinking fizz up her nose.

"I ordered pizza, the kind you always like me to get, but I thought as a cute snack I could make grilled cheese and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, like in kindergarten," Mrs. Corcoran continued excitedly.

Kylie raised her eyebrows in slight disappointment at her mother's failed attempt at creating a menu. She pulled herself up on top of the granite countertop and swung her legs off the side. Her mother's kitchen was something out of a Home and Gardens magazine. All white walls and kitchen furniture, accented with shots of powder blue. A few of her mother's own paintings decorated almost every empty wall space as if to say "I'm so talented. See how talented I am?"

"First of all, Brid doesn't even like peanut butter," Kylie mumbled, as if her mother should know this by now. "And second, this isn't kindergarten. We're in tenth grade,"

Mrs. Corcoran nodded. "Okay, okay, I think I have some popcorn in the pantry down in the basement for you all. And soda is in the downstairs fridge. Water bottles are in the garage. And please, please, please limit Rosie to only two sodas. Remember what happened last time?"

Kylie laughed at the memory of Rosie drinking five Mountain Dews and getting really hyper. That night had been a blur.

Her mother crossed her arms. "Kylie, I'm serious. I love Rosie to death, but keep her from bouncing off the walls, please."

Kylie stopped laughing and nodded.

"And get off my tabletop, Kyles," her mother said, smacking her arm playfully. "You know that part of the counter can break. It's not supported by anything,"

Kylie promptly hopped off and leaned her back against the counter instead, more than anything wanting this conversation to be over.

Her mom pointed to a stack of old board games with a fine layer of dust atop each case. "I found these in the attic. Your father was going to give them away, but I convinced him to let me keep them. I used to play these games when I was little. You girls might want to play."

Kylie shot her mom an are-you-kidding-me look.

Mrs. Corcoran frowned. "What? You guys would have fun."

"God, Mom, no," Her daughter replied.

Her mom shrugged. "Fine, you can go now. I just wanted your opinion."

Kylie hugged her mom. "I love you."

Mrs. Corcoran smiled. "I know. Now go finish setting up downstairs. Your friends are gonna be here at 7:30, 'kay? You've got ten minutes, girly," her mom said, laughing.

Kylie dashed out of the kitchen and swung open the small white door leading to the newly finished basement. The door of the basement was located in the tiny hallway off the white and blue accented kitchen, and it was so camouflaged, you would miss it if you didn't know where to look.

She bounded down the white-painted, wooden steps and walked over to the fireplace mantel, which was decorated with pictures of her and her family, to light the vanilla scented candles that were already laid out. Her mother had transformed one side of the basement into an art studio where she offered lessons to kids and adults.

The studio area was crowded with metal bins full of colored pencils (all organized by color shade of course), long white tables to sit at, easels and sinks, and even a tiny room off to the side with bookshelves full of manilla folders of magazine photos should any of her mother's art students want to select a picture to draw.

Much to her mother's disappointment, Kylie couldn't draw anything past a stick figure.

Kylie was allowed to hang out on the other side of the basement which resembled a less formal version of a sitting room.

She grabbed her lavender-scented free breeze and sprayed it around the room, as the smell of hairspray for drying oil paints often wafted through the entire basement. She arranged seven sleeping bags in between the chocolate lazy-boy duvet couch, and the plasma flat screen TV. Kylie then sprayed lavender sheet spray inside the sleeping bags, too. She set a small nail polish bottle on each sleeping bag.

Next came the downstairs bathroom. She lit scented candles on the small, white sink counter, and added a fresh roll of toilet paper on the holder. Kylie made sure the soap container was full, and brought in fresh hand towels.

She grimaced at the laminated sign next to the toilet her mother had made that kindly reminded her female art students not to flush feminine products down the toilet. All her friends joked about it whenever they came over, but her mother refused to take it down.

The soft, brown rug carpeting the the sitting room half of the basement floor had just been vacuumed, and smelled like oranges.

Kylie's basement was warm and cozy, and had a door in the art studio part that led to the smallest of corridors. Her mother had painted it sky blue and also painted a beautiful doe nibbling on grass and flowers. The tiny corridor was all cement walls, and blue cement stairs outside led up from the corridor and into their back porch, overlooking the Corcoran's back garden.

The basement smelled of lavender, burnt popcorn, and of course art supplies. Outside, lightning bugs had already begun to light up the purplish sky.

"Quiet, Faye!" Kylie snapped, even though her puppy was only playing with her bone squeaky toy.

She pressed Play on the CD player her mother used for her mood music downstairs and a Celtic Woman's song came blasting through her speakers. Kylie immediately turned the speakers down and popped the CD out of the player. She wished her mother would buy an iHome like regular houses had.

Kylie threw on a ratty pair of puma shorts, and a faded, black top made of thin material she had handed down from an older cousin. Her not-washed-since-yesterday hair was thrown in a high ponytail, as she hoped to hide some of the dirtiness.

Suddenly, the front door opened, and the familiar greetings exchanged between Kylie's friends and her parents were heard. The girls were directed downstairs, where they all started talking at once.

"Kylie-cub!" Rosella Jones yelled, jumping down two steps at a time. She practically tackled Kylie in one jump.

"Rosie, you need to calm the hell down," Kylie smiled, gently shoving Rosie off of her.

Rosie grinned. "Haha, make me, loser," Her once white 'I Heart NY' shirt was now a faded grey color from being washed and worn too many times, and her dark hair was piled in a low ponytail, her wispy strands of hair pushed back with a thin, elastic headband, trying to hide her split ends.

Kylie had met Rosie her sixth grade year when they both went to the same middle school. Rosie had then left to go to a different school in seventh grade because her family had moved out of the district. At the time, her parents were going through a pretty rough divorce. Her dad, whom Rosie said was from a country in Western Asia, had packed up and moved to California.

After that, her mom had moved them to a tiny ranch house near the high school her and Kylie attended. Being an only child, Rosie loved spending time at Kylie's house because she had so many

siblings running around. She did okay in school and academics, but her real passion was on the soccer field and in front of the goal.

Priscilla DeSantis hugged Kylie next. "Hey, you're here," Kylie squealed.

Cilla had been in Italy for two weeks visiting her mother's family and hadn't exactly made the effort to call or text any of her friends while she was away. Her parents were divorced as well, except unlike Rosie, Cilla never knew her father. She knew he lived in Spain somewhere, but she never made the effort to contact him. She was someone who was used to moving.

In fact, Cilla had been all across America, even living in Alaska for a year. She had only recently moved into a smaller house in a torn-up neighborhood where her mother, grandmother, and brothers were renting. Cilla had always dreamed of going to Harvard to become a lawyer, but that's all it was - a dream. Instead, she ended up answering a modeling and acting call and got herself an agent - which was such a joke to her friends but they were all too polite to say anything.

"I know, I have so many things to tell you guys about my weird family," Cilla laughed. "I had to sleep in the same bed as my nona for the first week I was there because my aunt forgot we were coming and didn't make up the guest bedroom." Cilla pulled on her own brown, coarse hair which hung flat down her back, her usual hairstyle. In fact, Kylie was pretty sure she had never seen Cilla wear her hair any other way.

Rowan Rigby ran down the stairs and waved to Kylie, her dirty blonde hair in a long French braid down her back. "I brought candy," She smiled. Rosie tackled her in a hug.

Rowan was certainly the sweetest and fairest of them all, with her shy smile, good-girl innocence, and the misfortune of never being able to tan in the summertime.

Her parents were old hippies, and had ironically named her older sister after the lonely character of Eleanor Rigby in the Beatles song of the same name. She was also the new girl, having just moved to to town their freshman year from Nebraska, and before then, from Canada - all for her father's job. She was currently renting a house with her family of six until they could move into a real one, living within walking distance of Kylie's house. They had met in science class their freshman year and bonded over how much they hated their awkward, annoying physics teacher.

"And I learned how to play poker the other day, and I think I can finally whip Cilla's butt," Rowan called.

Cilla pretended to be taken aback as she mockingly tossed her hair over her shoulder in an over-the-top fashion. "Shut the hell up, you don't know my poker strategies."

Rowan and Cilla then began shuffling a deck of cards from her bag.

"Wait, really?" Rosie rolled her eyes playfully. "You're gonna play this now?"

Brid Reilly came down the stairs, her older brother's laptop in her hands. She wore her usual track pants and athletic jacket, her cinnamon colored hair in a messy ponytail.

"Does Logan know you stole that?" Rowan asked, pointing to the laptop in Brid's hand.

Brid smiled evilly. "Honey, I borrowed it without permission - sue me,"

"Hey, Bridget," Kylie called out, hugging her tightly.

The girls chattered happily as the claimed their spots on the couch while Kylie threw a bag of popcorn in the microwave. She set the timer for one minute.

"Um, you do know there's a button that says POPCORN, right?" Rosie said, raising an eyebrow over at Kylie.

Kylie sighed. "Yeah, but it never pops all the kernels, so I leave it in for a minute and then ten seconds,"

Rosie scrunched up her eyebrows. "Why are we friends?"

"Guys, we haven't done anything together since summer," Brid said. "This is going to be so fun."

Cilla nodded in agreement, taking a sip from the Starbucks she'd brought with her. "Cause of freaking finals we haven't had time to do shit," she said aggravatedly, propping up her Ugg-clad feet on the coffee table in front of the couch. "I swear to God I failed my chemistry exam. And I ended the semester with a D in art class. How the hell do you fail that class?"

Kylie looked over at her sympathetically. "Did Kevin text you at all this whole week?" She asked, able to see through to the real reason for Cilla's frustration.

Cilla rolled her eyes at the mention of her 'boyfriend.' He turned out to be a real jerk these past couple of weeks and Cilla was already an over-sensitive person no matter how much she denied it, and lately she had become really hurt by his lack of response to her calls and texts. Then again, she did tend to be clingy at times. "He's just being an asshole right now. God, I need something to take my mind off of him," she turned to Rowan who was getting the popcorn out of the microwave. "While we're on the subject-"

"Who says 'while we're on the subject'?" Rosie cracked up.

Cilla ignored her but smiled a little. "How's Andrew?" She asked Rowan.

Rowan tried to pretend like she didn't know what Cilla was talking about but her flushed cheeks of embarrassment and shy smile gave her away. "C'mon, Ro. We know you like him,"

"Um, no I don't," Rowan replied, though her smile widened as her cheeks grew rosier. "We're just friends,"

"With benefits," Rosie finished for her, which was entirely false knowing Rowan. In fact, Rowan's parents wouldn't even let her date until she was seventeen, a full year away. This was hilariously ironic considering her parents history with free love back in their teenage years.

Rowan didn't say anything but lowered her gaze to her popcorn bowl out of slight embarrassment.

"At least you can get guys to notice you," Brid said sadly. "I've never had a boyfriend."

Rosie smirked. "You went to homecoming with Donavon this year,"

Brid shot her a look. "He never did and never will count. I went with him out of pity," she said, wrapping a fuzzy blanket around her shoulders. "I mean, what was I supposed to do? He made a sign out of macaroni and glitter, okay? That was probably the best I was going to get."

Cilla threw her empty coffee cup to the trashcan near the stairs. It missed and toppled onto the floor.

"You're getting that," Kylie said.

"No I'm not," Cilla shrugged.

Rosie groaned. "I don't wanna talk about boyfriends anymore. I need to relax with my waffles," she said, smiling at the group.

"Your waffles?" Eleanor giggled.

"The fuck?" Cilla furrowed her eyebrows.

"Yeah, that's you guys," Rosie nodded.

Kylie looked amused. "Why are we your waffles?"

Rosie shrugged. "Darling, why wouldn't you be?"

Brid nodded happily. "I do like waffles,"

Kylie shook her head and walked over to the bookshelf where her family kept their DVDs. "What do you guys wanna watch?"

Maggie, Kylie's older sister, walked down the stairs, carrying three boxes of pizza in her hands. "Mom said to bring this down to you guys,"

"NEWSIES!" Kylie's friends shouted at the same time.

Maggie rolled her eyes at her sister and her friends. "You guys are so lame. Kylie, you already watched Newsies last week. Remember the road trip to Grandma's house last weekend? You made me watch it in the back seat with you on loop."

Cilla jumped up and hugged Maggie. "I love you, Maggie,"

Maggie was like the honorary sister to Kylie's friends. She pried Cilla off of her.

"So? Don't insult Newsies, okay? You don't know Newsies," Rosie said back to Maggie.

"Newsies. Are. Life." Rowan furthered.

"But-" Rowan tried to retaliate, but it was too late. Kylie had already put the DVD in and hit Play. Rowan shrugged and bounded up the stairs. "Later, Nerdsies," she called behind her.

Just then, the garage door screeched as it opened, meaning someone was home. Kylie's older brother opened the door from the garage, his new girlfriend behind him holding Chinese takeout in her arms.

"'Sup, Jamie," Kylie called from the couch, not bothering to turn around.

Jamie muttered something of a hello as he texted someone as his phone.

"Watcha guys watching?" His girlfriend's voice was slightly raspy. She looked at the movie case that sat by the TV. "Newsies? No way, this movie is the shit," she said, pushing her dyed blonde hair out of her face.

"Super gay," Jamie muttered and started heading up the stairs. His girlfriend smiled sweetly at the group before following him up to the kitchen.

Kylie closed the door to upstairs so they wouldn't have any more distractions. She switched off the lights and settled back in with her friends.

The disney logo danced across the screen. Rosie squirmed excitedly. "I miss you, 90s,"

Cilla glared at her. "You are not allowed to say that, you were born in '97."

When the movie showed the boys in the Lodging House, they heard Rowan squeal.

"Mush is my spirit animal," Rosie mumbled in awe when the ab god himself came on the screen.

"That doesn't even make any sense," Rowan laughed, eyebrows furrowed in amused confusion.

Rosie shook her head, "Fight me,"

"I used to like Mush," Kylie agreed. "But I think I like a different one now."

"Ok, so then you've ruled out hot, toned, nice, and cuddly. What other newsies are you left with?" Rosie challenged with a mouthful of popcorn.

Cilla laughed and propped her feet up on Brid's lap. "Y'all are stupid. Race is obviously the best."

"Uh no. Blink is bae," Rowan argued.

"Blink has special needs," Cilla retorted. Rowan's eyes widened and Cilla shrunk back. Suddenly there was flash of blonde hair and purple polished nails as Rowan practically pounced on Cilla.

"Get off me, you little whack-a-mole," Cilla teased while trying to push Rowan off of her.

"Guys, Spot's just the best, okay? Deal with it," Kylie commented.

"Please, Spot's two years old. Besides, Mush is adorkable. Spot's just...scary." Rosie argued.

"NO, JACK! RUN!" Brid shouted, as Jack and David and Les made a run for it from Snyder. "Jack's so fast when he runs, must be hard for David."

"That's what she said," Cilla muttered, taking a drink from her cherry cola.

Rosie laughed slightly.

Everyone groaned when David introduced Jack to Sarah in the next scene.

"Wait a sec, guys," Kylie said. "Sarah's not that bad,"

Her friends turned and glared at her. "Who are you?" Cilla said in disgust.

"Where does David's dad even work?" Rosie asked, piling Rowan's hair into a messy bun.

"At the factory…" Rowan said as if it were obvious.

Brid shook her head. "Nah, Mayor Jacobs slays zombies for a living," she confirmed.

"Did they even have zombies in 1899?" Rowan asked.

Brid shrugged. "The history books are fuzzy on that,"

"Why is Spot so intimidating?" Rowan asked, painting her nails.

"Because he's gorgeous and has a cane." Kylie answered. "And I have a thing for guys with ocean blue eyes."

"And dog names." Brid stated, grabbing a handful of popcorn.

"You apparently have a thing for guys with preoccupations to go to New Mexico." Kylie smiled back.

"Well, Spot's a freaking Mary-Sue," Brid laughed. "I'm not even going to call him a Gary-Stu,"

Cilla threw a piece of popcorn in the air and caught it in her mouth on the third try. "Spot isn't part of the Racetrack and Jack friendship club," she and Brid high-fived.

As the movie ended and the credits rolled, the girls stretched and tossed their paper plates in the trash.

"I am done eating. Forever," Cilla said putting her pizza down. "I would love to go into the movie."

"Right?" Rowan added. "I'd out-Mary-Sue all of you,"

"Hey guys, we should do something," Brid suggested.

"Yeah, sure. Whatcha got planned for tonight, Ky?," Rosie asked.

Kylie thought for a moment. "I didn't plan farther than Newsies, but there are these, well, never mind,"

Rosie looked puzzled. "Spit it out, Ky."

Kylie thought for a second. "Well, my mom found these sketchy games upstairs, and-"

The others were already up the stairs in an instant. Kylie shrugged and followed them. The lights upstairs were all off, so her family must have gone out for dinner. Her brother and his girlfriend were no longer in the kitchen, so she assumed they were watching TV in the family room. The girls quietly grabbed the three board games from the kitchen and went back downstairs.

They sorted through the games her mom had left on the counter and brought them downstairs.

"Let's see," Ella said. "We've got Candy Land, Chutes and Ladders, and what the hell is this?" She asked, holding up an old, dusty game box.

The others huddled over it. It had a dark blue cover and was torn in some corners. On the box it had the words 'Tic Toc Game.' Kylie cautiously lifted the lid.

Dust flew out and the girls all coughed. "Gross, this probably hasn't been played in years," Rowan said.

A torn, dusty game board lay inside. A spinner and one little game piece was included.

"Does anyone else find it strange that there's only one pon?" Brid asked.

Cilla stared at her. "Stop it, Brid. You're just trying to scare us,"

"What?" Brid asked. "I'm just saying."

Kylie pulled out the game board and set it on the coffee table. Everyone gathered around. The pon was a small circle. The board looked more like a time line, if anything, but it was hard to tell what with all the dirt on it. There were what looked like playing cards to go with them. An intricate design was on the back of each card. The spinner was more like a clock, except with dates on them. A thin, brownish paper was at the bottom of the box.

"This must be the instructions." Cilla said.

Kylie picked it up. "I'll read it." She cleared her throat. "It says: Welcome to the 'Tic Toc Game.' We're so happy to have you.

Rosie scrunched her eyebrows. "It does not say that,"

Kylie showed her the paper, and sure enough it did.

"Go on," Rosie said. Everyone waited, breathless.

Kylie continued reading. "Just a few little words of advice. Since many have never played, don't play alone. In fact, we recommend you playing with others. You don't have to be scared, just be prepared. It's very important to pay attention to the rules of the game, especially the last two. A player must only play by their own will. There are no opponents in this game, just allies, trust me on that. Try to help each other out. Don't become attached to the game; keep your priorities in order. So do yourself a favor, and pay attention to these rules. But above all, once you have begun to play this game, there is no going back. And remember, Tic Toc and good luck. Signed, the Game Creator."

The room was totally silent. Kylie turned the paper over and found the rules. In very small script, she read:

"Instructions:

1. Place the game board on a flat surface

2. Place the clock spinner in the center

3. Place the cards next to the spinner

4. Turn is played counterclockwise among the players

5. Player spins clock four times, and moves that many spaces

6. During the same turn, player reads card

7. All wait

"All wait? What the hell?" Rosie asked, scratching her neck.

"I think we should play," Cilla said, looking down at the board.

"Naw, bro. This game is... weird." Rosie protested.

"I wanna play, too..." Rowan said, brushing back a strand of hair.

"Me, too." Brid scooted closer to the game.

"But this seems kinda shady, and-" Rosie started.

"Please, what's the worst that can happen, we get a paper cut?" Brid said sarcastically. "We should play."

"Kylie?" Cilla looked to her friend. "What do you say?"

Kylie looked thoughtful, then broke into a smirk. "I say, that what you say, is what I say."

Rosie shook her head. "Okay, you officially ruined the moment,"

"Okay, Ky, your house, so you spin." Cilla said, patting Kylie on the back.

"Um, okay," Kylie hesitantly reached out her hand and spun the clock. Everyone waited breathless in the dark room. Just enough light was coming in through the window for the girls to see the game board. The room was dark. All was silent. Then the hand on the spinner landed.

"Well?" Rowan whispered.

Kylie leaned over the spinner. "It landed on the one."

Brid took the pon and moved it one space on the game board. "Okay, what now?"

"Spin again," Cilla urged. "Four times remember?"

Kylie spun again. "Eight," she read.

Eight more spaces.

She spun a third time. "Nine,"

Nine more spaces.

The fourth time she produced another nine. Nine more spaces.

"What next?" Kylie asked.

"We pick a card." Brid said, picking a card for the group. She read it, over, and over again to herself.

"Well? What does it say?" Kylie asked.

Rosie laughed. "What's the matter? Bad fortune?"

Cilla smiled. "Yeah, Confucius says to stop being such a drama queen."

The other girls laughed. Brid didn't, but instead had her eyes glued to the card.

"Brid, what's wrong?" Rosie asked, trying to read the card over her shoulder.

"Read it out loud." Rowan said.

Brid took a deep breath. "It says: The use of traveling is to regulate imagination by reality, and instead of thinking how things may have been, to see them as they were."

"What does that mean?" Kylie asked, really confused.

"Who knows, I don't speak genius." Brid said, shrugging.

"Now what?" Asked Kylie.

"Now, we apparently wait." Brid said, shrugging.

"Wait for what?" Cilla asked. "Our clothes to go out of style?"

"It doesn't say," Rosie said, glaring at the directions.

"Um, you guys." Rowan said uneasily.

"It can't just say to wait. Let me see the directions." Brid said, trying to grab them from Rosie.

"Guys?" Rowan said again.

"Just chill out!" Cilla said to Brid and Rosie.

"GUYS!" Rowan yelled. Everyone stopped arguing and turned to the usually quiet one. They all looked at her expectantly.

"Well, what is it, Ro?" Kylie asked.

Rowan was staring at the game board. Everyone followed her gaze. "You guys, we forgot to read what our game piece landed on." she said in a distant voice.

"What does it say?" Asked Cilla, curious.

Rosie and Brid leaned in towards the game piece. Brid put down the directions and moved the game piece slightly to the side.

Rosie raised her eyebrows. "Okay, now I've officially peed my pants."

Kylie stared at where the pon had landed. "It says: 1899."

The TV turned on. They all turned towards it. Kylie got up and went to turn it off.

"Peculiar," Cilla stated as they walked back to the couch.

"Since when do you say 'peculiar'?" Brid asked with a laugh.

"I don't know," Cilla shrugged. "I just felt like it fit the mood, ya know?"

"Oh, in that case, well done," Brid nodded.

"Thanks,"

"Guys, focus!" Rowan snapped.

No sooner had they all sat down when the room started to warp slightly. Objects seemed to bend and colors merged together.

"What the hell is going on?" Rosie said, her voice faltering slightly, like a radio when you're flipping through stations without signal.

"I think we're tripping hard," Kylie answered back.

"Kkkyylieee," Cilla said, her voice slurring as the room around them seemed to melt and close in. "Yourrr mom gaaave usss reeeeferrrr pizzzaaaa,"

They huddled together, eyes closed, screaming. A blinding light engulfed them in a flash, and their minds went blank. They felt like they were falling. Then, BOOM! Total darkness. Everything was absolutely still. No one made a sound.


	3. Chapter 3

Kylie's eyes fluttered open. She gasped for air loudly as if she had been strangled. A cool wind drifted across her face, and the smell of burning wood and river water wafted through the air.

Kylie slowly shifted her eyes around her from where she was lying. Where was she? Her vision was blurred slightly, and the raging headache she was feeling began to subside.

A piercing ring was shooting through her ears, and she had to squint her eyes in order to focus. From what she could tell and smell, she was outside.

How long ago was it that she had gone outside? Was it before she fell asleep, or just now, or was she still dreaming?

Kylie tried to sit up, but was quickly back down on the ground. "What's happening?" She muttered to no one in particular, more to herself than anyone. She wasn't entirely sure that she wasn't alone as a matter of fact.

"Kylie?" Cilla whined from somewhere next to her. "Is that you?"

"Yeah, it's me," Kylie answered, still staring up at the sky, heavily shadowed by two, brick buildings.

Wait. Two, brick buildings? Kylie rubbed her throbbing temples. "I feel like I've been hit by a truck," she mewed, struggling to push herself up on her elbows. They were bony and painful to rest on against the hard concrete. "Scratch that. I feel like my head's been bashed in with a sledgehammer after jumping out of a plane after being blown up in an airport after crashing a car filled with explosives doused in gasoline while being shot by a semi-automatic while going into on-coming traffic while doing meth. Twice," she finished, cracking a small smile.

Cilla came into Kylie's view as her vision adjusted slightly. She raised an eyebrow at her. "You should write that one down," Cilla replied half-heartedly. "You just described my first hour pre-calc class in one sentence. How did you do that?"

"Shit, where are we?" A voice next to Kylie moaned. Cilla and Kylie glanced to their right to see Rosie looking around frantically, eyes wild with confusion and distress. Kylie had never before seen her so nervous. In fact, Kylie began to wonder why she herself didn't feel nervous. And that's when the panic started to set in.

"I-I don't know. I just woke up," Kylie said. "Were we kidnapped?" She asked, her voice going from drowsy to fearful in a millisecond. She quickly checked her arms and legs for any signs of struggle or abuse, but finding nothing but the small rope bracelet with tiny Celtic designs on her left wrist that she had worn since she bought it a few Novembers ago.

"I see Brid and Rowan," Cilla said slowly, peeling herself off from the ground and crawling over to the where two lifeless bodies lay on the ground a foot away from them. Kylie hadn't even thought of checking to see if they were all accounted for. But when she noticed both Brid and Rowan were being woken up by Cilla, she felt a bit more comfortable to know they were all there with her.

Rowan sat up wide-eyed. She brushed her blonde strands of hair out of her face and looked around her. The others watched her warily. "Why are we outside? Kylie, did we leave your house last night? I can't remember anything. Did I fall asleep?"

Brid just hugged her legs to her chest and listened as the others tried to review their circumstances.

"Kylie, I don't even know where we are," Cilla said in a grave tone that kind of scared the others. She stood up on wobbly legs and rested against the brick building on the side of the ally. "I don't think we're in your neighborhood anymore. This seems more like a city. I think we should go get help,"

"Yeah," Rosie nodded, joining Cilla. "I'll go with you,"

"No," Kylie said, standing up as well. "We don't split up. We all stay together," she breathed, looking at Brid and Rowan who were still sitting. "Come on, we'll sort this out. I'm sure my brother is just pulling a prank on us,"

"Yeah, that makes what kind of sense?" Rowan scoffed.

"Come on, please get up," Kylie said, tugging on Rowan's arm. Rowan allowed Kylie to pull her up, and Brid stood quietly afterwards.

Moving cautiously to the opening of the alleyway, the girls peeped around the corner to the bustling world they'd just stumbled into. To the far side of the dirt and cobblestone road, large wooden and metal wagons trollied along, piled high with crates and bundles of furniture and other goods. Men rode along the back of the wagons, seemingly hitching a ride unnoticed.

Golden-brown, rusted rouge, and even pine green buildings draped with clotheslines strung with shredded laundry lined both sides of the streets. Produce stands crowded the other side of the street, their vendors all barking loudly to the hustle and bustle in the streets.

Oh, and everyone was dressed as if they were auditioning for Downton Abbey.

"I'm dreaming," Kylie heard herself whisper. She clutched the side of the brick wall for support.

Cilla steadied a hand on hers. "Then I must be having the same dream," she mumbled.

A flock of pigeons darted past them, making nearly all of them jump. The strong stench of fish and river water made their stomachs churn. The girls inhaled, and then exhaled rather quickly.

Rosie coughed and then pulled her t-shirt v-neck so that is covered her nose. "At least we have air. It's not good air, but it's air."

"This is impossible," Kylie squeaked in awe, looking around in wonder. "At least I read it was impossible. I was so sure…"

"What's impossible?" Rowan echoed, her voice faltering.

Kylie turned towards the group of bewildered faces. "I...I think," she paused and turned over her hunch in her mind. "I'm almost positive we accidentally time-traveled,"

The girls stared at her in silence. "Okay, there's weird and then there's...Matrix. You're in Matrix waters right now," Cilla remarked, trying to chuckle, but it sounded forced.

Rosie looked as though she had remembered something and quickly fished the pockets of her sweatpants for something. She resurrected her Andriod cell phone. "I'm calling for help,"

"And say what?" Kylie demanded. "That we're chilling in the 19th century, not to worry but send a cab to pick us up?"

"Okay, we don't know that," Rosie said, typing frantically into her phone. "Damn it, no signal," she grumbled. She held her phone up in the air and began to wave it around.

"What are you doing?" Cilla asked.

Rosie glared at her. "Maybe I can get a pocket of signal somewhere,"

"A pocket of signal?" Kylie laughed in disbelief. "You're not going to get signal. We went back in time. There are no cell phones, ergo no signal."

"Extra! Extra!" a voice called. "Ellis Island in flames! Big conflagration!" The girls looked outside the alley all at once, jaws dropped, eyes wide.

"No," they all whispered under their breaths. Sure enough, the tall seventeen-year-old with the red bandana and cheeky smile was handing a paper to a woman nearby.

Rosie grabbed Kylie's arm and squeezed excitedly. "You know what, Kylie?" She said, trying to keep her voice from squealing. "We better have time traveled."


End file.
